Traverse City has developed quite a palette of large-scale, public murals in recent years, everywhere from industrial buildings to alleys to the TART Trail.

The lattermost is where a quartet of local artists met to create a mural on the back of the Grand Traverse Profile building, which faces the Boardman Loop Trail. The 14-foot by 30-foot mural of a loon was commissioned by TART Trails as the first of several trailside murals. Glenn Wolff, head of the art department at Northwestern Michigan College, and NMC art instructor Rufus Snoddy designed the work, and enlisted the aid of students Logan Hudson and Kiah Anderson.

“I’ve done tons of murals,” Wolff says, including work at the State and Bijou theaters. “TART contacted me. Rufus and I came up with the design, and it was big enough to hire two art students from NMC to work with us. They’re working on their own projects now.”

Wolff says the scale of such projects is appealing – and a challenge. “It takes me out of my comfort zone. It forces you to let go of obsessive detail,” he says.

Brianne Farley, a successful children’s book author and illustrator, recently installed a large painting at Stella Trattoria, where the walls were a bit too rough to paint directly on. “For me, it’s a nice departure from children’s books,” Farley says. The limited space and small size of books and the sometimes endless back-and-forth with editors and art directors make creating a mural in a large space with few or no rules instantly appealing. “You do it once and it’s done,” she says.

On its web site, local manufacturing company TentCraft notes, “We are rooted in humility, hard work, fun, and a little weirdness.” Embracing those last two parts, owner Matt Bulloch sought to bring some life to the exterior of the company’s headquarters on Cass Road. “We have such a cool space inside, with the color and the space and the lounge, but from the outside it is an ugly gray industrial building,” he says.

Not so much anymore. He met with local artist Chase Hunt, who then enlisted Kevin Burdick. The front side of the building is now anything but drab, featuring a montage of nature amid a background of hexagons. “Kevin did the lifelike bees and the flowers freehand. Chase added the fox and the geometric shapes,” says Bulloch.

“I wanted to add to the cultural fabric of the community,” he continues. “I’m proud of it. It’s not blah. I still really like it.”

Like Bulloch, Eric Gerstner wanted to have someone brighten the space at his TruFit Trouser buildings on Woodmere. And like Bulloch, he didn’t own the building he wanted beautified – it actually sits between and behind the buildings on the south side of his own property. “I approached the owner, asked, and they were fine with it,” he says.

So he asked Wolff, then one of his tenants, about creating a mural. Wolff recommended a then-student of his, Savannah Burke. 

He says the reception has been positive from the get go. “Everyone has enjoyed it from the day it was begun.” Two big pluses: It serves as a background at concerts that take place sporadically in the courtyard between the buildings. And it’s just as striking after sunset. “At night it is just beautiful. One spotlight shines on the moon.”

The concept of a giant vintage postcard mural along a busy downtown Traverse City walkway was conceived by ownership at The Ticker, Northern Express and Traverse City Business News, who wanted to create a gathering spot and also toast the local community and its own locally-owned media. It’s become a favorite spot for passers-by to take selfies.

For Darin Knupp, the creation of the mural between Kilwin’s and Pangea’s was a too-rare opportunity to pursue his large-scale art. “I’m from Chicago. I started doing them in the mid-90s. Traverse City is not as open (to murals) as you might think. There’s a lot of red tape and signage rules within the city limits,” he says. Knupp, who mostly works as a house painter, says creating a mural gets him in front of people, rather than in a home or studio. “I like painting in public where people can watch. You get more exposure, interaction and marketing.

“I do it for enjoyment,” he says. Knupp also painted the hummingbirds mural on the alleyside of the former firehouse between Front and State Streets, which once housed Bistro Foufou.